The Flight of a Lifetime
by lamuria.eclipse
Summary: A oneshot following the story A Little Too Late For Second Thoughts. Optimus convinces Starscream to "join" a human military air force, with good intentions of course.


**Oh wow, it's been a long time since I finished **_**A Little Too Late For Second Thoughts**_**, and now I **_**finally**_** have the first one-shot. Sorry! Oh, and I just started high school this year and am taking a few honors classes, so as you can imagine, things have been a little busy. To add to all of that, I have been **_**so**_** brain dead lately, I mean, it's not even funny, that's how bad it is. But enough of my excuses, here's the first one-shot you have been so patiently waiting for. ^-^**

**Note: Starscream is an Autobot in this one-shot!**

**Warning: There are humans in this one-shot! …obviously… (but this one-shot will be the only one that includes humans, so don't expect anymore involving 'em, because personally, they're not that fun to write about, but I did anyway because of that darn writer's block we all know and love and I had nothing else to write.)**

_::comlink::_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers, but the plot is mine, MINE I TELL YOU! lol**

* * *

_**-February 7**__**th**__** 2009-**_

Starscream soared smoothly through the clear skies; he was on his way to carry out Optimus' recent order made specifically for himself. The Autobot commander noticed his still persistent loathing towards mankind, which Megatron had planted in circuits the very second he was allied with the Decepticons. They're so primitive though, that Starscream didn't really want to repeal his disgust of mankind. But… he presumed it was for the best that he at least try and learn to _tolerate_ the tiny meat bags.

There had also been no sign of Megatron since he, Thundercracker, and Skywarp had joined the Autobots, so he had nothing better to do with his time anyway.

Optimus Prime had said to spend some time around humans, without revealing himself of course, to see how much potential they really had. The seeker only thought of one way to do that, how many places could he go anyway? It's not like a _fighter jet _could just go anywhere and do anything without scaring the natives of this planet, so he chose the only logical choice, 'joining' one of the human air forces. That was logical, right?

He decided to go with the United States Air Force; theirs was supposedly the best of them all, according to Skyfire. He flew in low, watching the Grand Forks Air Base grow in size as he neared it. Starscream cloaked his signal so as to hide himself as best he could while landing, at least he had the cover of darkness to help aid him. Everything surrounding the base was prairie, which meant he didn't have a whole lot of options for stealth, so he had to play it cool while going in for a landing.

His retractable wheels graced the paved landing strip. Once the seeker had come to a complete stop, he allowed the humans to take him into a holding bay specifically for the F-15 Eagle fighter jets. Thankfully, the pitiable creatures failed to notice there wasn't a pilot in his cockpit because of the tinted glass; otherwise there might've been a few inevitable problems.

After they left, he waited in the cold silence. It was quite peaceful until two humans entered the hangar, what they were speaking of Starscream couldn't have cared less, but he listened nevertheless.

"You were assigned an F-15, am I correct?" A woman with a strong voice asked an obvious new recruit standing beside her.

"Yes, General."

"Very well," She glanced down at her clipboard. "It appears that you have been assigned the jet in docking space A56."

The new recruit shifted his head to look at the jet that rested at A56. Starscream hadn't paid attention to the name of the docking space he resided in, so he was surprised to find the human inspecting and walking closer to him. He didn't like it.

"You can examine the jet tonight, but that is all. Rest for the night first; tomorrow you will be permitted to run your initial flight test. Good day, airman." The General left.

The remaining human saluted as she left in respectful recognition. He looked back at the jet and thought, _'That sure is an oddly colored jet, for the Air Force.' _The aircraft was colored with reds, purples, and whites… off-whites actually.

Starscream watched as the creature walked around and beneath him. The seeker didn't know what to do; he wasn't expecting to be assigned to a human, that was for sure, otherwise he'd have never signed up for this. He waited patiently though until the human exited the bay; it was then when he finally let his guard down and relaxed. He figured that since he'd now have to do some flying tomorrow— no thanks to those slaggin' humans— he would take this time to recharge.

_**-February 8**__**th**__** 2009-**_

Starscream's systems whirred back to life after the shorter-than-usual recharge sequence. His assigned human had yet to arrive so he chose to skillfully and surreptitiously 'hack' into the base's database and find out more about his recently assigned pilot. The information poured into his central processing unit. The seeker skimmed over unimportant data until he found what he desired; he read the records skeptically.

_Name: Aiden Davenport  
__Age: 23  
__Height: 6'0"  
__Weight: 186 lbs._

The ex-Decepticon remembered from when the human inspected him last night that he had possessed dark brown hair with a few loose strands in his face and piercing grey eyes. By all the excess info the Air Force had on him, Starscream guessed that this Aiden at _least_ seemed reputable, which was always a good thing. There was no way in Cybertron he would allow a defective human to control him, let alone be inside him.

It was then when Aiden chose to enter the hanger, no doubt looking for his new F-15 Eagle. Starscream sighed, and readied himself for the unwanted physical contact with the human. The new recruit was indeed searching for the jet, and he found it. He easily climbed in to the cockpit, blissfully ignorant of the aircraft's sentience.

The seeker inwardly recoiled as the human flipped a switch here and pushed a button there, readying for takeoff. Starscream felt his engines heat up and his wheels turn slowly towards the hangar's open door, then the breeze came. Although the wind was harsh, it felt good, _really_ good against his metallic frame.

The seeker got carried away and pushed his thrusters slightly— longing to feel the air rush past his wings— and momentarily forgot about the meat bag's presence. The human stiffened, and Starscream felt it. "I didn't do that…" Aiden mumbled to himself. The jet immediately slowed to where the human had had the speed at before the thrusters had a _spontaneous_ boost. Despite the slight complication, the recruit continued piloting the F-15 down the runway as if he had just imagined it.

Suddenly gravity ceased to exist and the beautifully aerodynamic frame of the ex-Decepticon took to the sky, leaving all evidence that it was ever land-bound behind. Starscream climbed altitude faster than any human ever deemed possible, although the human seemed to care less; he seemed to be enjoying the flight just as much as the seeker. With an inward smile, Megatron's former second in command thrust himself forward, leaving an audio splitting sonic boom in his wake.

The meat bag whooped with satisfaction as he piloted the jet to the left, the right, up and down, Starscream hesitantly allowed the human to steer him. He just hoped to Primus that the fleshling knew what he was doing…

_**-February 9**__**th**__** 2009-**_

Starscream huffed as Aiden yet again climbed into his cockpit, ready this time for a day of actual training. After the human went through multiple safety procedures and took off, another human on the other end of the head set used for communication told him instructions and various drills he would follow for the day. When the meat bag complied and began the drills, the seeker could tell it was going to be a long day. Why did he have to listen to Optimus? This was just a waste of time. Although he did have to admit, the humans' interactions with each other were quite entertaining. Humanity was one of the most primitive yet amusing species in the galaxy, they always do what you least expect.

_**-February 10**__**th**__** 2009-**_

Starscream's assigned human, along with any other humans weren't present in the holding bay when he decided to contact Optimus Prime.

_::Starscream to Optimus. Come in.::_

_::Starscream? I'm here. Is everything alright?::_

_::Well, nobody died if that's what you're implying. But Optimus, how much more of this do I have to go through? It's quite unexciting.::_

There was static on the other end as the Autobot commander laughed. _::Be patient, my friend. I never gave up on you, and look where you are now. Just give the humans a chance. They're really not all that bad.::_

_::I… I suppose your right— you always are— but I _still_ think they're disgusting creatures. Wait, the human's coming, I gotta go.:: _The seeker cut the link before the other mech could reply.

Aiden strolled up to Starscream's alternate form and hopped in. "Another maneuverability drill today, _fun_. When can I try something else?" He said to himself, something he seemed to do quite often.

The clouds sped by in a frenzied attempt to get out of the soaring F-15 Eagle's way. Everything seemed perfectly normal… or so they thought. A black, abnormally large bird suddenly came into view. Starscream wasn't sure if the human could see it, but he sure could, and on his radar too. It was… _metallic_! The seeker's CPU desperately tried to find an explanation, maybe it was some new experiment the American government had come up with? The air base on the ground didn't seem to be worried, so Starscream brushed it off. The ex-Decepticon failed to notice, however, the glistening purple emblem on the bird's chest and the ominous red optics that peered down at him… watching.

_**-February 11**__**th**__** 2009-**_

The next day Starscream couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong, terribly wrong. He pushed the thought aside though, he hated being paranoid. But when the doors to the hangar opened to reveal a crimson dawn, the seeker gasped. He had never seen something so, _stunning_, on this contemptible planet yet so daunting at the same time. The energon coursing through Starscream's system froze. He remembered a human saying that said: "Red sky morning, sailors take warning; red sky night, sailor's delight."

_**.:the Autobot's base:.**_

"Er… bossbot?" Jazz's visor was glued to Teletraan I's radar screen while his digits pranced along all the buttons, knobs, and switches. "You might wanna take a look at this."

"Yes, Jazz, what is it?" Optimus came up behind the saboteur.

Jazz pointed at the four blips on the radar. "I don't know 'bout you man, but those sure look a lot like Decepticon signatures."

"That they are. Where are they heading?"

"Looks to me like they're headin' for that human military base, I believe they call it the Grand Forks Air Base. Hey, ain't that the place you sent 'Screamer to?"

Optimus clenched his fists, "It is." He whirled around and exited the room, shouting on his way out, "We need to warn him."

_**.:the human air base:.**_

Starscream felt a certain serenity, a tranquility, but then again it was probably just the calm before the storm that he was feeling. The human, however, was totally oblivious and seemed bored with the same drills he's been doing for the past couple days, just as he was the day before. Then, abruptly, his comlink flared to life with the panic filled voice of the Autobot leader. Aiden nearly jumped out of his skin when the unfamiliar voice filled the cockpit.

_::Starscream, we have a situation.::_

Said seeker, unsure if he should reply and blow his cover or not, after a few kliks finally decided to say, _::What's the problem?::_

"Oh, _jeez_! I must've finally lost it… am I imagining this?" The meat bag's heart beat raced as he searched for the source of the voices.

_::Decepticons are on their way to your location, at least four of them.::_

_::What? Impossible!:: _Then with a dramatic epiphany it all made sense, the pessimistic and paranoid feelings he was having, and that unusual bird. Of course it would've been Laserbeak! How could he have been so blind, so stupid?

_::Just sit tight Starscream, we're on our way. Do _not_ engage them by yourself, do you here me?:: _

But Starscream didn't hear him, instead he muttered, "I think it's a little late for that, Optimus." Down on the ground, the seeker could make out the luminous form of Soundwave and his cassettes: Frenzy, Rumble, Ravage… and Laserbeak. They were headed for the base and were only about a mile away. He suddenly had an urge to protect the base and all its inhabitants, despite the fact that the humans were revolting little creatures. Starscream, without warning, dove for his former allies in a breath taking dive almost completely vertical. The human gasped.

Starscream's weapons were out in a blaze, he fired the missiles with deadly precision and speed. The Communications Officer didn't notice until it was too late. The large explosion rocked his frame, but the seeker wasn't so naïve as to believe that that would stop Soundwave, it would only slow him down. It was then when he remembered he still had the human trapped inside his cockpit, and with an unusual breathing rate. Starscream landed and opened his cockpit, demanding that the meat bag get out. The scandalized recruit scrambled out and away from the alien's presence.

With a sigh, the ex-Decepticon transformed gracefully and while turning towards his enemy he thought, _'Now I remember why Megatron had forced all Decepticons to loath humankind until each and every one actually did; they have no honor.'_

From the smoking ashes rose the infamously cold and heartless telepath, the very one that any Autobot would fear and any Decepticon respect. His chilling visor gleamed through the haze, absolutely no emotion emitting from it. He stalked forwards, advancing in the direction of the lone seeker.

Starscream allowed a low, menacing growl to escape from his vocalizer as he crouched forward, ready to strike. The sudden thrill that coursed through his very life source made him realize how much he had truly missed the ecstasy of combat. Although when he fought for the Decepticon cause, it felt almost… empty, like something was missing. Now it all clicked into place. When he was a 'con he fought for nobody else's survival but his own, and he fought for power. Now, he fought for the freedom, the protection of other _lives_. It felt good; it felt _right…_ to finally be fighting for something worthwhile.

"Hey, look at 'Screamer. He's one of them Autobots!" Rumble pointed at the twin symbols plastered on the seeker's wings.

Frenzy chuckled. "I always knew he was weak."

Starscream, completely ignoring the Cassetticons, aimed his null rays at Soundwave and fired without faltering. He knew only too well what would've happened had he hesitated even for the slightest microsecond. But Soundwave knew what he would do because of his telepathy; he wasn't the second most feared Decepticon in the galaxy for nothing. He knows what you are going to do before you even have time to process the thought, let alone act on it. The current Decepticon second-in-command fired his shoulder cannon at the same time, the two blasts colliding between the enemies with a white hot explosion.

The Cassetticons took the chance to ambush the seeker, all coming from different directions. Starscream had little time to react; Soundwave's pets beat and clawed at the Autobot's armor. Starscream thrashed about, eventually getting a hold of one of the cassettes and ripping whatever limb he was holding clean off. The shriek of pure agony took him by surprise; he had almost forgotten the sound.

The seeker fell to his knees with Frenzy hammering his right leg in a desperate attempt to avenge his brother. "Get _off_ of me you insufferable pests!" Starscream shouted, flinging Frenzy into Laserbeak, causing them both to tumble to the ground. The black feline's jaws snapped shut, inches away from his face. Starscream caught Ravage's neck and held him away from his face while the Cassetticon struggled.

Ravage was set free from the Autobot's hands moments later, no thanks to a sharp pain brought on by Soundwave's blaster. Starscream whirled around, locked and loaded. He aimed for the navy blue mech and fired without ceasing. "It's about time you started fighting your own battles." He taunted.

As usual, the taciturn Decepticon said nothing, but he _did_ walk forward. Starscream prepared himself for a mêlée attack, which was what he was expecting. Soundwave stopped in front of the seeker. He waited, unmoving and uncommunicative. _'Er… alright then.' _Starscream thought as he raised an optic ridge in a questioning manner.

It was then when it happened. A noise only audible to Cybertronians and so excruciatingly loud it made his audio receptors hiss and crackle with discontentment. Suddenly it was painstakingly clear how the Decepticon had gotten his name. The deafening sound waves crushed his hearing without mercy of any kind, and then it stopped. Just as fast as it had come, it stopped, but it felt like it lasted a lifetime. His audio receptors still stung dearly.

Starscream didn't realize he had fallen completely to the ground while he writhed in that unimaginable pain. When he onlined his optics, he glanced up to see a large blaster barrel being shoved in his face.

"Resistance: futile."

The seeker's spark skipped a beat; the sound of Soundwave's voice was particularly chilling compared to the very reverberation that had just ripped through his audios. Before the trigger could be pulled however, another F-15 Eagle fighter jet swooped in and fired at the communications officer. _The human! _Starscream scrambled to his feet and— after motioning to the human to keep his distance— launched himself at his enemy.

The Autobot pinned the Decepticon beneath him and pounded his chest compartment; the most vital part of his body. Soundwave caught one of his fists and twisted it in order to turn them both so that it was he himself that was on top. The sound of at least four vehicles approaching stopped the navy blue mech in his tracks. He immediately got up and off of the seeker with the intention of watching the newcomers closely.

Optimus Prime, Arcee, Jazz, and Bumblebee drove with Skyfire soaring up above them in their direction. Starscream perked up, confident that all six of them could take down the single 'con, even with all of his cassettes to help him.

And so the battle began…

Skyfire fired the first shots from above, highlighting the battle field with a fiery inferno. While the human circled the brawl from the sky, Optimus and Arcee helped Starscream take down Soundwave whilst Jazz and Bumblebee took the Cassetticons.

The cassettes put up quite a fight, but with team work they were eventually detained. According to Arcee, Soundwave's energy levels were on the lower side so it made sense why he put up little resistance; he was apprehended even before his Cassetticons. The Decepticon allowed stasis cuffs to be put on his wrists, clearly accepting his fate.

Optimus glanced at Starscream and said, "I thought I told you to wait for us to arrive."

"Well… you probably did, I just didn't take the time to listen to what you were saying at the time. Sorry." The seeker shrugged sheepishly.

"Hey, he's alive isn't he?" Arcee grinned.

The Autobot leader sighed, but smiled beneath his mask nevertheless. She was right after all.

Everyone froze when the Decepticon telepath suddenly spoke, "Lord Megatron's emergence and imminent arrival to Earth is approaching." There was a buzzing noise before a recording of the Decepticon commander's voice was heard. It was a message meant for the Autobots. "I'll bet you all thought that you had finally gotten rid of me." He chuckled. "Nothing is ever that easy, especially with me. Since my escape I have been gathering Decepticon troops from around the galaxy, preparing them for my reprisal. The humans have this little saying; 'revenge is a dish best served cold.' Isn't that right? Well, I think the dish is cold enough, don't you?" Megatron scoffed before his voice frequency faded into silence.

Everyone was quiet. Motionless. No one had heard from Megatron in over five vorns.

It was Jazz who finally broke the ice. "That's gotta be one of the creepiest things I think I ever heard."

Bumblebee laughed nervously. "I'm with you on that one."

Optimus eventually snapped everybody out of their haze and told them to escort the Decepticons back to base while he himself, along with Starscream, stayed behind. They still had to deal with the ever present human.

Prime attuned his comlink to communicate with the F-15 the human was piloting and said, _::If you will land, we would like to speak with you. We will not harm you.::_

Starscream whispered to his leader, "Are you sure we should be doing this? I mean, aren't humans afraid of, well, _anything_ they aren't knowledgeable about?"

"From what I've noticed, yes, they usually are. But this one, he hasn't run away from us yet."

Sure enough, the meat bag landed the jet next to the two towering Cybertronians. He slowly got out of the cockpit and hesitantly jumped down to the grassy ground. Sucking in a deep breath, he tried to take in the robotic beings probably twenty-five feet taller than him. Optimus knelt down to help ease the intimidating aura he must be radiating. Starscream, however, remained standing. "You must be the human Starscream was assigned to."

"I-I… yes, sir. I believe so, if this Starscream is an Eagle fighter jet."

Optimus chuckled. "Yes. I apologize. This is Starscream." He motioned towards the seeker. "And I am Optimus Prime; we… are not of your world."

"Aiden Davenport." He glanced back and forth between the two Autobots. "I-if you're not here to harm anyone, then, why are you here?"

Optimus wavered. "Not all of our kind is like us. We are here mainly to protect humanity from _them_, the others… and from extinction."

"W-what would they look like? Like you?"

"For the most part, yes. We are from a planet called Cybertron, and our species can, _transform_ I guess you could say. We change our shape by scanning the schematics of a certain object, and we can make a perfect match of the object apart from the color. So they could look like anything from here on Earth as well as an alien from another planet."

Starscream scoffed. "They're called Decepticons. I highly recommend that you run from any you see; they will not hesitate to kill you."

The human nodded. "What are you called?"

"Autobots." Optimus indicated his emblem shining brightly on his shoulder. "This is how you can tell the difference between us, this is our symbol. The Decepticon's is jagged and violet. Optics are also a dead giveaway; ours are blue, theirs are red." The Autobot leader stood up. "We would appreciate if you kept this battle undisclosed. I can't imagine what would happen if your people discovered us."

"No, no, I understand. I… I won't tell anybody. But… _wow_. I, I never would have expected this. I mean, I suspected something was up when I noticed the jet had some unusual quirks, but never anything like this, not in a million years." Just as Aiden finished his sentence, the radio from the other F-15 blasted with a general's voice. _::Davenport report back to base, you were not authorized to pilot another jet!::_

Aiden glanced at Starscream, "Are you coming back?"

"Er… probably not. It seems as though Megatron has finally chosen to come after us to avenge his long lost dignity. I need to be with the rest of my friends in a time like this." Starscream slowly kneeled down to the human's level. "I… thank you though for helping me back there during the heat of battle."

The man looked surprised. "No problem. That's what we do, sir. We never leave a man behind… er, no matter what planet they're from."

Optimus smiled beneath his face mask.

Aiden turned and got into the cockpit of the other Eagle fighter jet. "If you guys ever need any human reinforcements, don't hesitate to call on us. I have a feeling that we owe you _more_ than one." He started the jet thrusters— making them whine and scream— and took off charmingly down North Dakota's flat surface and up into the crisp air.

"What happened?" Optimus gazed at Starscream curiously. "You said 'thank you for helping me back there', what did he do?"

"He, he shot at Soundwave before he could finish me off right then and there. I admit that I, in all probability, would not have made it out of that fight without him. I also admit that I have underestimated the humans. Although I still think they're gross, they deserve some respect." Starscream looked as though he couldn't believe what was coming out of his own vocalizer.

The Autobot commander chuckled blithely. "I knew you'd come around. Not all humans are the cowards you originally made them out to be. Now come, we should get back to the base and prepare for any Decepticon attack that could possibly happen. This time, we'll be ready for them."

Starscream's intakes sucked in oxygen. "I sure hope so."

**(A/N) Well there you go, voila! Now, hopefully I'll be able to get the next one-shot (which will probably be something like a two-shot or a three-shot in actuality) out faster than I did with this one. :) Review pretty please and tell me what you thought! Thanks so much for reading! –Trans 7.4.7 Formers**


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